Granny Smith: community builder

In various ways, Placer Dome is contributing to the community surrounding the Granny Smith mine in Western Australia.

For the past four years, the mine has been providing air transit to a group of student volunteers drawn mainly from Curtin University in Perth. The group is known as the Curtin Volunteers.

Granny Smith has been giving assistance to the group’s largest undertaking, the Laverton Project, a community development program designed to help Aboriginals in the area. As a result of these efforts, the Aboriginal community has founded the Wongatha-Wonganarra Aboriginal Corporation.

The corporation has gained international recognition for its work in areas such as health promotion, architecture, construction, sports and recreation.

In October 2000, Granny Smith became the first company to be awarded the John Curtin medal for leadership in community service. The mine received the medal mainly for its attempts to resolve issues of Native Title claims, as well as for cultural awareness training for staff and mine site rehabilitation.

The medal was awarded by the university and is in honour of Australia’s wartime prime minister, John Curtin.

Meanwhile, the Wallaby Environmental Review (WER), a comprehensive impact assessment and environmental management plan developed in consultation between Granny Smith and various stakeholders, has become the basis for project approvals.

And in September 2000, Granny Smith won the Golden Gecko Award for the second year running. The award selection committee, which consists of individuals from conservation agencies, the media and government, stated: “Placer has, with its Wallaby project, developed and implemented a participatory planning process to deal with aspects such as the environment, heritage and community impact. The process is providing better environmental and social outcomes for all concerned, as well as developing effective relationships and understanding between stakeholders.”

— The preceding is an excerpt from Gold, a publication of the London-based World Gold Council.